Cam Ward was the first overall pick of the draft, but the Titans haven’t named him their starting quarterback yet and one of Ward’s teammates says the rookie isn’t carrying himself as if he’s entitled to be in the lineup in Week 1.
Right tackle JC Latham discussed how things played out over spring practices while on SiriusXM NFL Radio recently and he said that neither Ward nor incumbent starter Will Levis have resigned themselves to a particular pecking order once the team gets back on the field this summer. Latham said that the competition has brought out the best in both players and that he thinks it is helping them grow ahead of the 2025 season.
“Will’s just not going to sit over here and say ‘Oh, we drafted him, go ahead take it,’” Latham said. “Cam’s not gonna expect it to be just given to him. Throughout the spring, I think that’s the one thing all the coaches and players on the team have seen. Both of them taking the challenge of trying to really earn the spot and really fight for the spot. It’s made them better.”
The odds are obviously heavily slanted in Ward’s favor and he’s likely to be the starter come September, but having to compete for the job rather than be handed it should only help his standing with the team once he is on the field this year.
Veteran free agent wide receiver Tyler Boyd said recently that he’d “absolutely” be interested in playing for the Steelers this season and the Pittsburgh native has reportedly had a chance to share his views with the team.
Longtime Steelers reporter Mark Kaboly said on 93.7 The Fan that the Steelers and Boyd have talked this offseason.
Kaboly went on to say that he was not sure if a formal offer was made during those conversations. He added that the money that Boyd has been offered around the league this offseason from any team has not been in the neighborhood he’s looking for and that he’s continuing to wait to see if a better offer can come his way.
DK Metcalf, Calvin Austin, Roman Wilson, Robert Woods, Scotty Miller, and Ben Skowronek are the current wideouts for the Steelers. Boyd spent eight seasons with the Bengals before moving to the Titans last season. He had 39 catches for 390 yards in Tennessee.
Last year, the Titans traded second- and third-round picks to the Chiefs for cornerback L’Jarius Sneed, then signed Sneed to a four-year, $76 million contract. His first season in Tennessee came to an early and disappointing end, as Sneed suffered a quadriceps injury in the fifth game and missed the rest of the year.
But now Sneed says he’s good to go for 2025. Sneed told NBC 6 that he’s healthy and motivated to show what kind of player he is.
“I’m healthy, I’m healthy as I’ve been,” Sneed said. “Last year, my first year, didn’t go as planned but it’s time to come out and show the world what God’s been instilling in me this entire year. I’m ready to get back on the field, that’s my life, that’s what I do for a living. I missed the whole year and I have to remind everybody who L’Jarius Sneed is.”
The Titans made a big investment in Sneed with last year’s trade and contract, and Sneed still believes that investment is going to pay off. Even after his first year didn’t go as planned.
I was talking to my son last night about the recent PFT list of the five hottest coaching seats.
Said my son, “Is Brian Callahan on it?”
Said I, “Shit!”
If Panthers coach Dave Canales is there as he enters his second season as a head coach, the Titans head coach should be, too. Although the precise reasons are different, the common thread is an unpredictability tracing to top-down dysfunction.
In Tennessee, Chad Brinker became after 2024 the latest winner of the in-house power struggle. He’s running the show, with Mike Borgonzi now the G.M. The latest iteration of mismatched front office/coach could result in Speck/Borgonzi wanting their own head coach after the coming season.
Callahan went 3-14 last year. Good (bad) enough to secure the first overall pick, and the rights to quarterback Cam Ward.
It would be much better for Ward if Callahan sticks around. The young quarterback doesn’t need a revolving door. He needs consistency and continuity.
But dysfunctional teams do dysfunctional things, and the recent run of dysfunction in Tennessee is reason enough to wonder whether Callahan will be feeling the heat, unless he at least doubles his first-year win total in his second NFL campaign.
Tyler Boyd is a Pittsburgh native. He played college football at Pitt. After nine NFL seasons, he’d like to continue his pro career with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“Absolutely,” Boyd told Pittsburgh Sports Now on Saturday, via Bryan DeArdo of CBSSports.com. “You know, all my family is here. I’d be able to have the majority of them be able to support me.”
He expressed interest in signing with the Steelers a year ago, after eight seasons with the Bengals. He landed with the Titans instead.
Boyd is once again making it known he’d like to come home.
“I’m real cool with [coach Mike] Tomlin,” Boyd said. “He’s always been a good person. . . . When I was at Pitt, we had a good relationship. After practice, I’d walk over there, talk to [Antonio Brown] and those guys, talk to Tomlin, and he’d just pick at different things, where I could get better and get some guidance. I think we had a great friendship.”
The Steelers could use another veteran receiver. They haven’t added one since trading George Pickens to the Cowboys in May.
Boyd had back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in 2018-19. In 16 games last year with the Titans, he had only 39 catches for 390 yards.
Newcomers for 2025 are DK Metcalf and Robert Woods. Calvin Austin III will be expected to step up. And the Steelers are hoping to get something/anything from 2024 third-rounder Roman Wilson in his second season.
